


Discovery Pt. 1

by orphan_account, RougemageNick



Series: Just a RWBY OS full of OCs... [26]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-09
Updated: 2015-02-09
Packaged: 2018-03-11 06:39:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3317756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RougemageNick/pseuds/RougemageNick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the second semester really gets underway, Mickey is taking the members of Team JNAS out on a mission into Grimm territory to shadow her on a real mission...But that's not all they're there for. At the same time, Team SCRT stays behind in Beacon under direct orders from Ozpin to investigate mysterious markings through Vale...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Discovery Pt. 1

**Author's Note:**

> IF YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT THE ARTWORK, SEE THE NOTES BELOW. Hello, everyone, this is your friendly neighborhood author, MZT1418. I'm sorry about the wait for this latest piece. I've been having a serious writing block lately that's just caused me problem after problem. After some much needed time away, I'm happy to report that I'm back on, and that I will be returning to more consistent updating. Thank you for your patience...MZT out. Later, peasants ^_^.

Discovery:

At the dance last night, Mickey lead the teams, and Sid off to a corner of the courtyard with no one else present to explain to them that there was a school event coming up, wherein the students would be shadowing a Huntsman or Huntress on a real job.

"And I have just the job for us...Team SCRT, Headmaster Ozpin wants your help for something else...Sorry about that...JNAS, you guys will be joining me into the Forever Fall...When that kid from Xellos' crash site woke up, he told us that...Well, Xellos was there. He was, apparently, looking for something...He knocked the kid out and left him for the Grimm...But Alice got there first...So I think you can see where I'm going with this..." Mickey prompted, waving her hands in circles in front of her as a gesture to catch on. Everyone in the room but Sid had already gotten the message though.

"Uh...I-i...I have zero knowledge of what's going on here...Does this have something to do with the thing Tia said she couldn't talk to me about?..." she asked, looking around with a confused message.

Tia nodded, "Yeah...Sorry...I still can't say anything about that...Maybe eventually, but...Not yet..." she said, shrugging.

Sid put her hands up, leaning her head forward, "No no, it's cool, I get it, super-secret-ultra-sexy-huntress business...I gotcha." she said with a nod.

Mickey chuckled, "You sound like Alice..." she muttered, shaking her head and smiling. "Anyway, I'm sorry I pulled you away from that dance, but I didn't want to say shit about that in front of the other students...I mean I know we're all playin' for the same team, but...I don't know, it just doesn't feel comfortable to me...So yeah...If you want, you can get back to it." she said.

"Hm...Well, we're all dressed up, but I then again, it's such a nice night...Who's up for...Just taking a walk?..." Anna asked, glancing around.

Sid clapped her hands together, "Come on, everyone, let's go for a walk, I kinda want to see Beacon before the night's out..." she said, glancing around at everyone.

Sam shrugged, "Why not?...Let's go for it, sounds nice..." with Sam on board for it, everyone was soon swayed to join them for a night walk around Beacon's grounds. It was more than an hour's walk until they'd seen all of Beacon, everyone going off the map they were given on their scrolls. When finally they'd rounded back to the airfield, the conversations and jokes were winding down as everyone began to get tired. Sid climbed into the bullhead that was being flown by one of the night-shift pilots, who would get her back to Vale. She was staying in an apartment building in Vale, and it was only a ten minute walk from the airfield. But before she stepped onto the bullhead, Sasha coughed and muttered "goodnight kiss" before coughing another fake cough. Everyone else present followed suit, and the night was filled with fake coughing and mutterings of the words "goodnight kiss."

Tia and Sid both smiled, although Tia blushed a little more than Sid, who was more than happy to snatch a kiss whenever she could. She sat on the edge of the bullhead and grabbed Tia's shoulders to lean in for a kiss that lasted almost a minute long. Both parted smiling, and the bullhead was in the air in a minute. Tia turned around bright red, and with a wide smile. Everyone clapped for her, nodding in approval.

The next day, Monday, was the formal announcement of what Mickey told the students last night. Every team would be shadowing a huntsman or huntress on a real mission. Everyone was told to gather essentials that morning for their trip. Jay simply packed up his dufflebag as he'd done a thousand times before, and was the first one ready. Nick was the second done, having been experienced in preparing quickly for jobs, followed by Sasha, who was only so late because she was helping Anna at the same time. When they were finished, the team quickly dashed from the dorm to head towards the presentation hall, where Ozpin was waiting to give a speech. The students from the other kingdoms had all gathered in the hall, and everyone was placing their bags in group piles. They found Team SCRT's bags had already been placed, marked by the twins bright blue bags, each with their initials on them. They couldn't have been anyone elses, really.

Team JNAS quickly scoured the crowd to find their friends and they stood in a group as the speech began. Ozpin spoke about past war the arose from the control of mankind. Many people started to name their children after colors, as a display of creativity. Team JNAS muttered back and forth with SCRT about how this was true, but that color was only one way of showing creativity, joined by originality. Even though they weren't named after colors, the teams took pride in their names...

When Headmaster Ozpin finished his speech, he gave the announcement everyone was waiting for. The screens on the sides of the room rose as the Headmaster finished his speech, telling the students to look through the missions for one they would be ok shadowing.

"This is gonna be fun, don't you guys think?" Mickey said suddenly from behind the group. Everyone turned, but they'd come to expect Mickey's appearances. "Alright, JNAS, come with me..." she said, waving her hand and leading them over to them over to one of the screens, which had more exclusive missions that could only be taken if the Huntress or Huntsman taking the mission approved of the team. She tapped the top mission in the Exclusive Approval section, titled "Grimm Control Needed Immediately" and revealed the team listed as Team JNAS. "Alright kids. Basically, we're going in, we're killing everything in sight, and we're leaving again. Nothing beyond that. And by nothing beyond that, I mean there's a thing we have to do beyond that." Mickey said, smirking.

"That bullhead that Xellos crashed should be there, right?..." Jay asked immediately.

Mickey nodded, "But uh, you kids aren't supposed to know that...Alice was there when that kid woke up, so she had access to information she shouldn't have had...I'm not supposed to know that ship's there either...But Alice told me about it, and I coerced Ozpin to give me that mission...And I approved you kids to join me...This isn't gonna be a single day's mission, though...We're gettin' in a few kilometers from the crash site...So we'll have to get there on foot." Mickey explained.

"And once we get there...We search the ship and the vicinity, right?" Sasha asked, crossing her arms.

Mickey nodded, "That's the plan in a nutshell...But it's...More complicated. We got...A tiny list of problems..." Mickey said, lifting two fingers and bringing them close together to indicate a small amount.

"Ok...And...Those are?..." Anna began, raising an eyebrow.

"One...Looters...Human looters...And quite a few of them...Like...A huge organized force...Pretty well armed, too...They were spotted by the same patrol that went out to search the ship the first time...We're not sure if they have some sort of...Cave or headquarters, but we suspect they may actually be based in an old Hunters camp out north west...The kid from the team that went out to the crash site first reported them, and supposedly, the High Council decided to put up cloaking devices...It's to make sure the crash couldn't be found...Which just happens to be problem number two. Number three is kinda the Goliath in the room, pun intended, the Grimm in the area...And lastly...Well, if it's discovered that we searched that site...We'll all be in big trouble. Fortunately, I'm confident each of you have a niche that solves these problems in turn." she said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Do tell...Because those...Those seem like...Some pretty big problems..." Nick said, moving his hands to the back of his head and lacing them there.

"Aw, come on...You should be able to see this...Jay? Do you see it?" she asked. Jay simply nodded. "Good...Care to explain it?" she asked. Jay sighed and shook his head.

"Ok, wow, so what you're saying is you didn't actually see it, some tactician you are..." Sasha taunted.

Jay groaned again, "Fine, you really need an explanation, then let me walk you through it step by fucking step. Ahem. Problem one, the looters, is a job for Anna. As an illusionist and speed driver, she's best qualified to raid that camp and take out those nuisances. If she needs back-up, Mickey or myself or anyone else on this team would be more than sufficient to drive it home. Problem two, the cloaking device, is my problem. I can see energy conduits or bending light patterns or dust signatures. There isn't a cloaking device they could whip up that I couldn't see through. Problem three is all of ours, really, right up until we get close enough to the ship or the looters to have to split up, wherein Grimm control becomes yours to solve. Your behemoth strength, although it pains me to say it, can mow through Grimm after Grimm. But since there are...Hundreds of them...You'll probably have Mickey there with you. I'd wager Mickey will also be assisting Anna with her raid. If you guys haven't picked up the pattern yet, then let me fill you in. There's only one more problem, and the perfect man for the job is Nick. Nick, as an ex-thief, who's been on multiple jobs where your positional memory is key, there's no one better to make sure no detail is out of place when we're done than you. There. Was that really so fucking hard? Pay attention, stupid." Jay growled at the conclusion of his explanation.

"Jay, calm down, she's your friend...Uh...Teammate..." Anna said, grabbing his hand. Jay went silent.

"Uh...Well...There you have it. That is pretty much exactly the plan...Sasha, next time you antagonize, you're getting detention with Professor Port. Jay, next time you insult your teammates,  **you'll** get detention with Professor Goodwitch. Do I make myself clear?" she said, looking at both Jay and Sasha in turn. Jay and Sasha both grumbled for a few seconds. "Look at me when I talk to you, and speak up, you're future hunters. Talk like it." she demanded.

"Yes ma'am." they both grumbled more loudly. Mickey nodded approvingly as Anna and Nick both cracked up, almost falling over with laughter. Mickey nodded again and walked off, chuckling a little to herself, having been infected with Anna and Nick's laughter. It took nearly five minutes for them to recover.

"You two...You're like...I just...What the fuck is it with you two...I can just...Picture it...Like...Jay's the older brother who was born a year before Sasha, and always flaunts that against Sasha, who's smaller and filled with anger, and just loves to spite Jay at every turn...You two are the archest of arch rivals...That's all there is to it." Nick said, wiping a tear from his eye and shaking his head. 

Jay sighed, "Oh shut up...We leave in about half an hour...Let's grab our bags and get everything in order before we get out of here..." Jay demanded. Even though he said this, he made no move to go get his bags, as he was still holding Anna's hand, and wasn't really wanting to let go, especially when annoyed.

Anna coughed, getting the last of the laughter out of her system, "Ok, yeah, let's do that...But just so you know, I think Nick is right...Alright, come on, let's go..." she said, shaking her head and smiling at Jay, who gave her a look of slight betrayal at her agreement with Nick.

Sasha had made no move, nor any sound, and when Jay and Anna walked off, he turned to her and put his hand to her chin, trying to see her eyes, "Hey...I didn't mean to say anything that upset you...If I did, I'm sorry, ok?" he said, smiling.

Sasha sighed, blushing, "If you weren't cute, you'd still be very much on the hook. Let's go..." she muttered, grabbing his hand and walking off with him in tow. Nick sighed and smiled, simply following along as they went to get ready to leave...

* * *

 

Team SCRT watched Mickey lead their classmates of team JNAS be lead off by Mickey and turned to eachother, "Uh...Ok...So uh...We're finding Ozpin, then? Didn't Mickey say he wanted us for something special?" Sam asked, looking around at his teammates.

The twins nodded, "Oh!! There he is...He's talking to team RWBY..." they said, pointing out the team of girl, standing by one of the panels titled "Search and Destroy," where Headmaster Ozpin was talking to the girls with a sly smile on his face.

"Alright, we can wait..." Sam said. After a minute or two of the team sharing dirty looks at their team leader, Ozpin started to walk away, then paused for a second and leaned back so team RWBY could see him, and gave another parting remark before walking off again. "Alright, our turn." Sam said immediately. He took his opportunity and dashed up to Ozpin, who stopped suddenly before Sam.

"Ah, Team SCRT, just who I wanted to see...Tia, did Sid make it home last night?...As you know, she was not allowed to stay at Beacon overnight..." Ozpin asked, raising an eyebrow at Tia.

"Don't worry, she got home..." Tia assured.

"Uh, so Headmaster...You sid-SAID...Uh...You said you had a mission for us?" Sam said, quickly correcting his mistake.

"Yes, I do. You four will be staying in Vale, where there have been...Markings...Showing up at random across the kingdom...Spraypainted in alleyways, carved into metal beams, even left sprinkled in various dusts on the street...We don't have any reason to suspect that these marks are the work of the White Fang...In fact, there has been...Absolutely nothing left at each scene...As though they were scrubbed empty of something...We're not quite sure what to make of them, so I'd like to put you on the job...You'll be reporting back to our own Professor Goodwitch, in cooperation with Atlas authority. But I pride myself as a fair man. You may turn this down and search the boards for a job you'd prefer, if you so choose..." he offered, gesturing around the room. Sam glanced at his teammates. The twins were both wide eyed, faces plastered with large smiles. He could practically see the sparkle in their eyes. They both nodded vigorously. He looked to Rachel, who made a noise of indifference and shrugged.

"We'll take it...How could we turn down a job directly from the Headmaster..." Sam answered, nodding to himself.

Headmaster Ozpin smiled and nodded, tapping away on his scroll for a few seconds. Suddenly the scrolls of the whole team that stood before Ozpin rang out. They all pulled their scrolls out and looked over the mission summary that Ozpin had just sent them.

The twins squealed, almost shaking with happiness, "WE GET TO SOLVE A MYSTERY!!! YEEEEEEEES!!!" they both exclaimed.

"I've also sent you a map that displays the locations of the marks found thus far...And lastly, your mentor, Ms. Goodwitch, will be waiting for you by the airfield. Good luck. Be careful." Ozpin explained before nodding to each member of the team and walking off. With nothing left to do but get going, team SCRT went to collect their bags and walked quickly out to the airfield. The walk to the bullheads wasn't a long one, but before they'd reached the one that was marked with the same number as they'd been given on their scrolls, the twins turned and dashed off in another direction. Sam and Rachel turned to see them talking to team JNAS, who was just boarding their bullhead. Rachel sighed and followed Sam as he went over to join the twins in giving parting words.

"You guys get to solve a mystery?! That's so cool!! I remember doing that once...It's fun...Just remember to write it all down like a crime novel so we can read it, ok?" Sasha demanded.

"We've got a more serious set of guidelines to work with...But hey, we'll tell you all about it when we're back, ok?..." Anna said, nodding and giving a hug to each of the twins in turn. Upon their approach, Rachel was immediately met with a hug from Anna as well, which she accepted with a slight smile and silence. Anna gave a hug to Sam as well, then stepped back onto the bullhead.

"JNAS...Remember to be careful..." Sam said above the noise of the bullhead, which was starting up. Nick stepped down and gave a handshake to each of the members of team SCRT, stopping at Sam and keeping his grip.

"We'll be fine...You just remember not to die..." he said. Sam nodded before releasing Nick's hand and waving to Jay, who didn't like physical contact. Sasha was busy giving both twins at once a very lengthy bear hug, lifting them both from the ground and swinging them around like ragdolls before putting them back down. Both of them wobbled back and forth, dazed for a few seconds before straightening themselves.

"Alright...Team SCRT...Stay safe...We don't know what's waitin' for you out there...But for now...It's time we left...See you guys in about a week..." Mickey called from the back of the bullhead as the door closed and it quickly took off. Team SCRT watched it fly for a few seconds before turning and walking to their bullhead, bags in hand. Just as Headmaster Ozpin had told them Professor Goodwitch stood patiently in the bullhead.

"Ah. There you are...Come on now, we'd best be getting to Vale...We've got alot of work to do, and it'll be a long day...I hope you packed well and ate a good breakfast." she said curtly as they climbed into the bullhead. The door closed and the light built into the top of the compartment turned on immediately as they felt the bullhead take off.

Sam nodded, smiling bright as ever, "Yup...It may be a long day, but...I've got a good feeling...This is gonna be fun..." he said, glancing around at everyone present, still smiling...

* * *

 

"So where exactly are we going?...And why's it taking so long to get there?..." Nick asked Mickey. The team sat together in the back of the bullhead, not content to be standing for the duration of the two-hour flight deep into Grimm territory.

"South-west...And sorry about that, bullhead's aren't exactly the fastest mode of transportation...I mean...If we had an entire airship...We'd be there already...But we were only commissioned a bullhead to use for the trip...Sorry guys..." Alice answered for him from the pilot's seat. Mickey had made sure as one of the conditions of her return to Beacon that whenever she was sent out on a mission, that Alice be her designated pilot. Ozpin had happily agreed to this, as he knew their personal connection, but made sure to add that she make sure that connection never interfered with her prerogatives. Mickey was a little more reluctant to agree to that than Ozpin had been, but agreed nonetheless.

Nick shook his head, "Don't worry about it...I was just curious..." he called back.

"Well either way...Are you guys all clear about what we're doing when we get to the drop zone? You guys should consider yourselves lucky...Alice here's chosen a good spot...We'll be in a pretty mild area of the sector..." Mickey said, looking around at the team, who were all sitting crosslegged in a circle, as with Mickey. Everyone gave a general nod, but this didn't satisfy Mickey. "No no...Come on guys, give it back to me...I gotta make sure we're clear..." she insisted, looking around at them with a serious expression.

"Alright, our first job will be to search the area we're in and clear out any hostile force..." Anna put forth.

Mickey nodded, "Yup...That's first...We'll be about five kilometers from the looter's camp...Our first job will be clearing that out. Now can someone explain again why we can't all go in there like a pack?" Mickey asked, looking around and speaking as though they were in a classroom.

"Because we're not really even sure if they're at that camp. And even if they are, there are still Grimm in that area, which have to be taken out as well...Not to mention the fact that if we're taking the perimeter of the camp, we can cut down any of them who try to get away..." Jay answered immediately, crossing his arms.

Mickey nodded, "Good. So team A will consist of me and Anna, who will sweep the camp as quickly as we can. Team B will be Jay, Nick, and Sasha, who will patrol the outer perimeter for both Grimm, and escapees..." Mickey continued.

"Hey, are we really authorized to...Kill them?..." Sasha asked.

Mickey sighed, "We're authorized to take them down with deadly force. If they try to kill you, you can put them down. If you can take them without it having to come to that, then do so...Me and Anna will be doing to same...Remember, these are armed forces living outside the borders of the kingdom...They're not entitled to the same protection as the citizens of Vale, and our visiting international friends...We're not responsible for their deaths if they try to harm you. As far as Vale is concerned...These guys are criminals...They've looted several supply trains already...We're lucky Atlas forces haven't already gone in, because if they had...They wouldn't leave survivors...So...Try not to kill if you don't have to...But don't be afraid to." Mickey answered solemnly.

"Hey, if Jay was an interkingdom traveller...Doesn't that make him a criminal like them? Like...I don't know about that, Mickey..." Nick said, glancing at Jay.

Jay shook his head, "No no, the town I grew up in is a defended and fortified outpost of Vale, and is considered part of the Vale Kingdom and it's territories...I was a citizen of Vale from the moment I was born...Our town was actually looted quite a bit when I was young...Huntsmen and Huntresses were brought in to defend us...So...Don't feel pity for the ones who try to kill you...Something I learned from an early age was the difference between someone who's merciless and someone who's desperate...The difference is the desperate ones will do whatever they can to live, because normally they have something to live for...You can see the difference in their eyes...Don't kill those ones...They'll be taken into custody and given due processes. I've seen it before..." Jay said to him, nodding casually. Everyone nodded, feeling a bit more secure about what their actions would be.

"Uh...Everything he just said..." Mickey said, pushing her glasses up on her nose. "Just remember what we're there for...This looter's camp is only on our radar because they're considered to be as dangerous as the Grimm in the area, and since they're in our sector, which we're supposed to be clearing out of all danger, we'll be treating them as such. So let's just get it done and be on our way." Mickey continued. Everyone nodded again, filled with more confidence. Such was the effect Mickey had on them to make even intimidating events seem simplicity. Alice was dropping in altitude now, near a break in the trees, that was only a few meters across.

She stopped, hovering there and looked back at the team, "Alright kids, Mickey, here's your stop...May Monty protect you guys..." she called as the door opened. She was only about ten meters from the ground. Everyone stood and grabbed their bags, quickly stepping off the edge of the opening, dropping onto the ground below, Mickey following last. For this mission, she wore special shoes with one inch heels, which was filled with wind dust to use as she pleased, and she wore fingerless gloves which were imbued with wind dust. She used a minimal amount of wind dust in her heels to drop slowly onto the ground besides the team.

"Well then...Get to it...Drop your bags and spread out. Clear out the area..." she commanded, crossing her arms and smiling happily. Everyone nodded and immediately dropped their bags without a second thought, then scattered into the trees. Mickey however, calmly walked around, gathering their bags and putting them in a neat line next to the two backpacks she'd brought with her. She then sat down next to the bags and opened one of the pouches on Alice's backpack. The one she'd brought was Alice's which she took with at Alice's request.

She listened carefully for a few seconds, but heard neither gunfire, nor fighting. She smiled and pulled the compact flute box free. She sat crosslegged next to the bags and opened the box, revealing her own silver flute. It was small, only about a foot in length, half the size of a normal flute, and was made completely out of real silver. It had lines of holes over it and was simplistic in design, having had swirling wind patterns carved into the sides. She looked over the flute, which she hadn't been able to play in months...After a minute, she began to hear the sounds of fighting in the vicinity. She pulled out her scroll for a second to check on them by opening her long-range motion detector. She found each of them on the map, each designated by their symbols. They were each surrounded, but only by 7-9 Grimm each...A number they could easily handle.

She smiled, satisfied that they were safe and breathed in deeply, bringing the flute to her lips and playing. The sound wasn't as smooth as it normally was, but she was out of practice. It didn't take her long to pick it back up and begin playing as she always did. Her tune was light and level, easily echoing through the trees back to her, producing a chorus of sound that seemed to resonate with the earth as she rolled the last notes on each bar. It was a tune she recalled easily...Soon though she was aware of Grimm in her surroundings. She wasn't sure how many there were, but it didn't matter either way...The head of the Taijitu, only a common one, all white, without a second head, and only a few feet smaller than King Taijitu at adult size, wandered from the brush. It slithered slowly around the clearing, getting itself around Mickey completely. But the sound of her flute seemed to daze the creature a little.

She stopped her playing and calmly reached into one of the pouches on her hips that contained her fans and a supply of wind dust and grabbed a small pinch, only about a teaspoon in her fingers and muttered to herself with a smile, "Big mistake, little guy." she said and lifted her fingers to her lips, taking the wind dust in her mouth and swallowing it. The creature was getting its bearings now that Mickey had stopped playing, but she didn't intend to stop long. Once the wind dust began to interact with her aura as breathed in deeply, filling her lungs with power. Bringing the flute back to her lips, the Grimm struck towards her, fangs extended, and she let loose a high note, flicking her finger swiftly up and down over the hole to let the note oscillate pitch.

The dust's power filled her breath and the air was alive with powerful vibrations of sound, amplified by the dust. The Taijitu was immediately struck with the effect, reeling back and screeching as it writhed in pain. Mickey was protected by the destructive sound by her aura as she closed her eyes and continued the note, using the dust she'd swallowed to not only increase her lung capacity, but to power the sound wave. The Taijitu's screeches weren't heard above the powerful vibrations however, and it rolled and twisted and arched as blood began to pour from it's eyes and throat. It's mouth stretched out widely, shaking before the thing's body when limp, dropping onto the ground. Mickey let the remaining breath from her lungs immediately and coughed a little, spitting out some blood, which she wiped from her lips and sighed.

"That gets a little harder each year..." she muttered to herself, shaking her head and looking over the flute again before putting it back to her lips and resuming her melody. In ten minutes, the members of team JNAS came dashing back to the landing site, looking very shocked and confused. The Taijitu's body had already disintegrated, leaving Mickey out alone in the clearing. Not a single Grimm had come her way again after her brief encounter with the Common Taijitu.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!?!" Nick demanded immediately upon their convergence at the scene.

Mickey opened her eyes and stopped playing, "What was what?" she asked calmly, intentionally teasing them.

"That...That...Bloody  **sound**!!!" Sasha exclaimed, waving her arms, frantically searching for the words to describe it.

"I have...No idea what you're talking about." she said simply, resting her forearms on her knees, fighting back her smile.

"No...No no no, that's...Not possible...There's no fucking way you didn't hear that. It pretty much knocked me on my ass and nearly got me killed." Anna insisted, her cat ears still folded down from the sudden noise.

"Yeah no, Anna's completely right, it's not possible you didn't hear th-...Oh my gods...Did you use your fucking flute to make that sound?! HOW DID YOU EVEN DO THAT?!? I could fucking... **SEE**  those damn waves vibrating through the air...It was incredibly distracting. I was almost bisected by a fucking Deathstalker because of that noise, Mickey. Can you please like...Not do that in the future?" Jay asked, rubbing his eyes in annoyance.

Mickey began laughing hysterically, "Alright...I...By Monty's epic dancing that was funny...I'm sorry guys...Yeah, I'll...Hold off on doing that again...It puts alot of stress on my aura anyway...And wind dust doesn't taste very good...I mean like, it fills your lungs with...The most crisp and amazing air you've ever breathed with...But the consistency...Not easy to deal with..." she said, making a face and licking her lips.

"You...Ate wind dust?..." Nick said, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah yeah, but it's mostly the acceleration of the sound waves that lets me do that trick...Very difficult to pull off..." she answered, standing and slipping the flute back into it's box and put it back into the pouch on her backpack, lifting it and Alice's pack onto her back. "Let's move, kids. We've got twenty or so kilometers to cover before nightfall...Grab your stuff and let's move." she commanded, standing casually and patiently as the team quickly retrieved their bags from the line Mickey had put them in.

The walk they started went on for almost five hours. No one really minded the long walk. They walked at a casual pace, stopping occasionally at a stream to admire the environment. They passed cliffs and valleys and rivers that had carved out canyons in the forest. But the Grimm they had been sent to eradicate were not content to let them walk past them. All day they were assaulted by packs of beowulves as well as Ursa, and the occasional Nevermore from cliff face nests. They encountered only a single fully grown Manticore, but before everyone had even finished drawing their weapons, Mickey herself had pulled free her fans and let loose the wind dust they contained, tossing them forth. They spun through the air like circular saws and sliced the Manticore smoothly in two , right down the middle of it's body before the wind dust guided them back to Mickey.

She caught them as the blood was cleaned off in the blustering dust before she clipped them back into the pouches on her hips. Everyone stood wide eyed for a few seconds until the Manticore had completely disintegrated, when Mickey smiled brightly, nodded, and insisted they keep going. The sun was setting when they came across a high plateau with a cave in the cliff face.

Mickey stopped the kids and waved them back as she took out a lantern, "You kids...Clear the perimeter of the cave...I want a good kilometer around this spot cleaned out." she said, and quickly dashed into the cave. Everyone nodded to eachother briefly before turning and dashing off. Using their scrolls to find the given distance and then sweeping backwards, taking out everything they found in their way that was Grimm. It took them twenty minutes to return to the cave, where they found that Mickey had already set up a fire, and was sitting crosslegged, wrapping something in foil and putting it next to her, with four others.

"What took you guys so long," she said with a smile, looking over them.

"Nothing...Just taking our time being careful..." Nick answered as they all took seats around the fire. Stars were beginning to shine in the evening sky now, as Mickey took one of the rectangular boxes of foil after another, tossing one to each member of the team. It was a clear and beautiful night, so it was silently agreed that they'd sleep outside the cave that night.

"Put them carefully near the fire, in the coals..." she instructed them. Everyone now knew what was in these foil wrappers and happily obliged.

Mickey sat up after placing her own s'more in the fire, glancing around at the team. She cleared her throat, "So...One thing we huntresses and huntsman are supposed to do on these trips is question you...Get you to ask yourself why you've chosen this line of work...Make you question yourselves...Because if you're not completely sure of what you want to do, you're already dead in this type of life...It isn't the type of thing you get away from..." she said.

Jay raised an eyebrow, "You did..." he muttered.

Mickey chuckled, shaking her head, "And look at me now...Already neck deep in it again. No...There's no out. I may have taken a needed break, but that's all. From the second you stepped into my shop...From even before that, if I think about it...I was always gonna return to this...So...I expect honest answers...Who wants to go first?" she said, clapping her hands together and looking around. No one spoke up...Mickey sighed. "Alright...Leaders first. Nick, how 'bout you?" she asked, nodding towards him.

Nick looked up, "Oh, me?...Well..." he ran his hands through his hair in consideration. "Well it's actually just what it seems for me. I've had a bad life so far...Best I can figure, I need to find a life that can...Make up for that...And to make use of all my skills...This is where I most belong...And besides...I'm lookin' for someone..." his hand hovered near his gun, "And this is the best way to find em." he explained.

Mickey nodded, "Alot of people find alot of things in this work...I'm sure you'll find what you seek." she said confidently.

She turned to Jay, "Your turn, redhead. What're you here for..." she asked. Jay removed his eyes from the fire, where he'd been staring for nearly five minutes without blinking.

"For me, it's a...Very different story...The thing is...People always assume...That these eyes mean that I'm good for only watching...And that history is written by men like me...That they sit down with ink bottles and write it out as they saw it...But they're wrong." he said, his voice sounded a little out of body, and his eyes had returned to the fire. "History isn't written...It isn't watched...History is carved in the very earth. 'And through the ravines of time run not ink nor water...But the blood of the men who had the strength to make it so.'" he said.

Sasha chuckled, "How poetic..." she mocked.

Jay rolled his eyes, "It's a proverb I read in a book from my hometown. History isn't written, it's carved...It's crafted...Written in blood and stone." he explained. "And I intend to do just that. People look at me and think I'm nothing but a scholar...An observer...And maybe I am...But I'm the scholar who's gonna craft history...I'm gonna change the world..." he said, still looking into the fire.

Mickey raised an eyebrow, "Do you really think you can?" she asked.

Jay smirked, "If anyone can...It's the people who believe they can. And I intend to."

Nick nodded and put his hand on Jay's shoulder, shaking him back and forth a little, "Well we got your back for that...One hundred fuckin' percent." he remarked.

Jay chuckled a bit, "Thanks...That's actually quite encouraging." he said back.

Mickey laughed loudly, shaking her head, "Well then, I'd better stay alive long enough to see you change the world..." she said through her laughter. Mickey turned from Jay, "Next up...How 'bout the kitten...What are you here for, Anna?" she asked, leaning forward.

Anna's ears twitched, "Oh...Well...Uh...I just..." she stuttered. She cleared her throat and looked back at Mickey, "Well when people look at me...They don't see a warrior. They see a little girl. They see a faunus...They see me as weak. But they're wrong. And I can prove it...But I know that even when I become a huntress...Even then, people will still look down on me, so more than anything...I'm here to prove it to myself. I'm here to show myself what I'm capable of...And when people look down at me, or call me weak...I'll know they're wrong. And they'll know it too...Because when the time comes...They'll be the weak ones...They'll be the ones to cower behind me as I fight for the lives of everyone they've ever cared about..." she explained.

Mickey nodded and placed her hand on her chin in consideration..."The champion of the truly weak..." she muttered.  Mickey was silent for a few seconds, considering Anna's answer. After a minute, she looked up, "Guys...S'mores are ready...So then...Sasha, your turn...Why become a huntress?" she asked simply. Before Sasha started, everyone leaned in, using their aura to simply grab the s'mores from the fire and unwrapped them. The chocolate was melted perfectly, and the marshmallows had gotten melty and sticky. Even the graham crackers had gotten softer in the heat, making them easy to eat. Everyone began eating theirs as Sasha leaned forward.

Sasha swallowed the bite she'd taken and cleared her throat, "Well...It's like this...I'm strong. Strength is kinda my forte. And others...Aren't. But interestingly enough, they want to act like they're the superiors. They all want to shout to the fuckin' heaven that they're right about everything. But they're not. They're stupid and angry and weak and they don't listen to anything...They kick and shout like kids when they don't get their way, and I won't have it. I'm here to gain more than just strength. I've got that. What I want...Is to set the world straight. I want to show people that they don't have the right to put others down. I want to be something people respect and listen to...So that they shut the fuck up and stop being such fuckin' bullies to people they don't like...People who get no respect..." she said, almost a little angrily.

Jay chuckled, "In certain lore, people like you were referred to as Knights. Nobles who were respected as great warriors and leaders who protected the weak and lived by a code of equality and justice." he added.

Sasha nodded vigorously, "That!! Exactly that. I want to be a Knight..." she beamed.

Mickey smiled, "Interesting..." she muttered.

Nick raised an eyebrow, leaning back a little, "What about you, Mickey? Why'd you want to become a huntress?" he inquired.

Mickey laughed, "Me? Well it's simple...Think about the world we live in...Think about the struggles people go through every day...Do you think about that often? I do...My family was never that financially sound, but we had enough...And to be honest...It was amazing...I had everything I wanted in so little...But I had more than that...I had...Power. Power others didn't have...I discovered my Semblance very young and always wondered why...Then...I looked around at...The people who weren't as lucky...They deserved to live in peace and prosperity, but...Few had the chance to...And I could help...I could give people a better life...When I realized that...When I realized the kind of power I could have...It was just...The right choice...Everything made so much sense...I had power...And when I started in a combat academy... It was so easy...It all just...Fit. My power worked so well that it seemed obvious. It's the life I want to live...I took a break to help Alice out of a life I knew she didn't want to be in, but other than that...I've always felt that this is where I belong..." she chimed, smiling.

Everyone listened with full attention, quite interested in Mickey's tale. Everyone had finished their s'mores between the stories told, and had bundled the foil, putting it in a pouch on their pack. After a few seconds, she looked up and clapped her hands, "Well, that was fun...But it's late...Tomorrow, we got an early start...So get to bed..." she said, nodding to them. Within ten minutes, everyone had unpacked their sleeping bags and laid them out next to the fire. Mickey had stood, "I've got first watch...We'll go in backwards order, so Sasha, you've got next watch." she said and nodded again before walking out between the team and the treeline to stand watch...

* * *

 

Professor Goodwitch sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she looked over the mark on the ground before her. A large red circle was drawn on the ground in a red metallic substance, just a few feet from the sidewalk in an alley by an older dust shop and a several story large apartment building. Within the borders of the circle was an X, which was also marked with tallies, that almost resembled barcodes on each of the lines. The professor had already had a long morning, having been forced to sit in on a meeting with the council about a breakin at the communication tower. Ironwood had been giving her looks that he must have thought were discreet, though they weren't in the slightest, and it had gotten on her nerves. But she wasn't the only one who was annoyed this morning.

Rachel, who was currently standing on the sidewalk with the car, was also annoyed. Though she loved her family, and felt grateful to her older sister, Grace, for allowing their team to use her car during their mission, she was less happy about her sister coming to the airfield in person to deliver it to Rachel and her team. At which point, she hopped out of the car and immediately began questioning her sister about her mission. Her older sister, along with the rest of Rachel's family, had always been proud and incredibly supportive of their daughter's choice in futures. No one showed this enthusiasm more than Grace, whose enthusiasm was far too overwhelming for most, especially her quiet, antisocial little sister. Rachel had done her best, however, to smile and thank her sister for her support, despite the stress it put on her. And now, she leaned back against the car, watching on and trying to calm her nerves. Sam, who thought it best to let her be, was crouching on his haunches over the X.

"Why is there...Iron...In this paint...And what's with the marks itself?" he asked, referring to no one in particular.

"It's a paint made to evaporate in the sun...The marks themselves haven't been deciphered yet...There's no scan of them that provides any insight...Whatever it is, it's a code...A code that we can't crack." Goodwitch responded, sighing and replacing her glasses on her nose.

"And there's nothing else present in the alley...Like...Absolutely nothing. This alley has been...Sanitized." the twins said in sync as they dropped from the fire escape of the apartment building. They'd spent the last twenty minutes examining the alley thoroughly together.

"Must you two always speak as if you're a single person?" Goodwitch demanded in annoyance. The twins glanced at eachother and ignored the question, walking up beside Sam. The sun was beginning to shine into the alley. In a few minutes, it would make contact with the mark, at which point, the paint would dissolve, leaving nothing in it's wake. Goodwitch couldn't allow that. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bottle, wrapped in black cloth. In one motion, her riding crop rose up in her left hand, and the paint disintegrated from the ground, rose up, and flowed into a small funnel, neatly filling the bottle. The cap dropped onto the top, and with a click, the bottle was sealed. She handed it quickly to Sam, and began to walk out of the alley when her scroll vibrated in her pocket. She reached for her scroll, already groaning at the suspicion of who it might be. Sure enough, it was Ironwood, having sent a message to her to meet he and Ozpin at the communication tower to oversee the team that had been brought in to check the systems for any irregularities.

She sighed again, holding back her anger and turned to Sam, "I've already sent you the coordinates of the most recent mark. You're to go to that location and continue the investigation. I have...Something to take care of. It might take me a few hours. Try not to cause any damage to anything important." she commanded before walking from the alley in a huff.

Rachel immediately turned and opened the driver's door, "Finally." she muttered simply.

The twins grabbed Sam's arm as he went to get into the passenger's side, "Hey Sam...Are you gonna let her drive again? She's got...Some bad road rage..." they said silently.

Sam nodded, "Yeah, but she's just feeling stress...Let her get it out...She hasn't hurt anyone, so it's no problem, ok? And if she does, I'll talk to her..." he reassured them as he walked around and opened the door. The twins got into the back seat, and immediately received a glare from Rachel in the rear-view mirror. After all, it hadn't escaped her what they were talking about. Rachel started the car and they headed out. The sun was up at this point, and the bottle in Sam's hand was getting warm. He opened the glove compartment of the car and placed it in as they came to a stop at a red light. It was at this point that Rachel's nerves got the better of her at the sight of another driver. Rachel had always obeyed the rules of the road. It was a courtesy as much as anything else, she felt. She thought that if she was going to drive around a two-ton barreling ball of death, the least she could do is be safe about it. The driver on at the intersection to her left, however, was almost halfway into the intersection, with the back half of his car blocking the crosswalk.

In a sudden snap of rage, she rolled the window down and yanked her whip free, lashing out at the car and smashing the ground in front of it, before shouting, "STOP BLOCKING THE CROSSWALK, DIPSHIT!!!" The car's driver was clearly in a panic, backing up as quickly as possible before Rachel's second attack could hit their car. The car stayed put, even through the green light, as Rachel put her whip away and waited for the green light, driving on at the speed limit. It took them twenty more minutes to get to the second site, during which time Rachel only lashed out at one more person, who tried to yell at her when she demanded he not ride his bike across the crosswalk. His bike was no longer in a single piece when it reached the other side. When they reached the site, Rachel parked across the street from the destination. The mark was in place on the side of yet another apartment building, in plain sight from the street. The greatest difference, however, was the fact that this mark was done in green spray paint. The X in the circle had no tallies on it, as well.

"Uh...This one...Isn't..." Sam began.

"This one isn't drawn in something that's destroyed by the sun..." Rachel finished for him. She had removed her scroll, and was going through the records. "According to the records, some of the civilians who reported these markings sometimes claimed they were green to start with, but...When they were investigated within hours following...The marks had changed colors to red or blue...Blue when drawn in ice dust that would melt in the sun, and red with...That metallic paint...Which evaporated...So the mark we just saw, and this mark here...Are the only two we can investigate until a new one is discovered." Rachel continued.

"Ok, so...These marks don't stay for more than a day at a time. They're placed normally near the end of the day or during the night, and are not meant to last through another day. So that means whoever it is...Is monitoring these signs...They see them before the day is out, and someone...Also during the night...Replace the mark one that will disappear...Between the moment the new mark is placed and the morning, someone sees it...So maybe they're watching all of Vale...Right now..." Sam thought out loud.

The twins nodded, "So then all we have to do is set up a stake-out and wait for them to show themselves to place the new mark...Or do whatever it is they're doing...And catch them..." they added.

"Hm...Something else...These marks have never been reported during the day...Something must be different about this one for it to have been placed so early...Let's investigate the area, and see what comes up..." Rachel finished for them.

The twins nodded, "Actually, we gotta catch a cab back to the airfield...Anna left us instructions to care for their tortoise while they're out...So we got to do that for her...We'll be back in...However long." they said together as they began to walk down the sidewalk.

"Bring back snacks!!" Sam called after them. He turned to Rachel, "Shall we?" he asked, offering his hand. Rachel smiled a little and took his hand as they walked across the street to examine the marking. When they reached the other side of the street, they stopped and looked the mark over for a few seconds, simply considering possibilities.

"How about we go in and see if we can't find out about anyone suspicious in the building...I mean this is the second apartment building, right? Maybe someone inside noticed something..." Rachel offered.

"Good idea...And after that...Perhaps it'd be better if we left for a little while, find a good point to watch from..." Sam replied as they walked around the corner to the door of the door. Sam reached forward and pulled it open for Rachel with a flourished motion and a bow, who always found herself blushing when Sam did things like this. The man at the front desk looked to be about forty, with graying black hair.

"Ahh, a young couple lookin' to rent their first place, perhaps?" he said as Sam and Rachel approached.

Rachel's blushing only increased as Sam shook his head, with his charismatic smile, "Two out of three, I'm afraid...It'd be our first place, and we are a couple...But we're not here to rent, sir...We're actually from Beacon Academy. You see, we're conducting an investigation, and we were wondering if you have any information about the mark on the outside of your building?..." he asked, producing his scroll along with Rachel to reveal their student IDs.

The man's eyes widened, "Huntsman...Well well, I knew they'd be investigating this, but I didn't know they'd be sending huntsman, let alone students...Unfortunately, no, I don't have any information about that mark...It showed up only this morning, and the cops said I couldn't clean it off because of exactly this...That it was part of a case that was now Beacon jurisdiction..." he answered happily.

Sam nodded, "Thank you, sir...We ask that you make sure people know to steer clear of that mark until tomorrow morning. It will be gone by then, and hopefully we'll be able to wrap this up by then as well." he responded. "Oh, one more thing...Has anyone suspicious rented a room lately? Within the last day or so?" he asked.

The man shook his head, "Nope...Not a one...For the past week...Sorry..." he said with a shrug. Sam nodded and thanked him again before they walked out.

"Alright...So now, I guess we just...Find a spot and watch until something happens..." Rachel said as they crossed the street to the car.

Only after both of them got in and closed their doors did Sam speak up, "I suspect that whoever this mark was intended for is watching this site at this moment...Which means we may want to leave this site alone until nightfall...After all, whoever replaces the marks can't do so during the day, while the new mark would melt... I'll send a message to the Professor and Tia's scroll...In the meantime...Let's get some lunch, the two of us..." he offered with a smile. A smile that, while often contagious to anyone who saw it anyway, was exceptionally effective on Rachel. She simply nodded, smiling in return and starting up the car. They went to their usual spot, which is something Rachel liked about Sam, he was happy returning to the same restaurant simply because she was most comfortable there. It was a small cake shop in uptown Vale, run by a kind woman named Jenny, who'd had Rachel's preferences memorized after their numerous visits. They always took the corner booth, with Rachel sitting across from Sam, who sat in the corner spot.

Jenny smiled as she walked up to them, "Well if it isn't my favorite couple of totally-awesome-future-protectors of the world...Are you two having the things you usually have?" she asked happily. Rachel simply nodded, fidgeting with the handle of her whip on her hip. Sam took his collapsed Excalibur armor and placed it on the seat next to him, keep it in between him and the window rather than between him and room, before nodding as well. Jenny smiled, not even having to open up a notepad, and walked back behind the counter.

Sam turned to Rachel, putting his hands forward for her, "How are you feeling today?" he asked simply.

Rachel smiled a little and took his hands so as to stop fidgeting, "Little anxious...How much of this is Goodwitch gonna actually be around for, do you think? She seems a little busy...This could end up being something we have to take on ourselves...Speaking of which, what do you think about this whole thing...Those marks...A code...Someone who's...Clearly watching the city..." she asked, squeezing his hands with a rhythm, as she always did.

Sam shook his head, "To be honest, I'm not sure how much the Professor is gonna be around either...Between the White Fang lately, and the Vytal Festival...I have the feeling Vale's quickly becoming a more dangerous place than people think...Times of peace...Just don't seem as peaceful recently...And as for our case...Well I'm not sure...It seems...Too elaborate...Too...Conspicuous to be the White Fang...Or as Sasha calls them, the Red Fang...But...I'm not sure what else would have this reach..." he answered, thinking the problem over.

"Xellos did...And what did the files say? That he was somehow granted pardons for crimes he committed as a kid...And was able to disappear just like that..." Rachel thought, raising an eyebrow.

"You think Xellos could be behind this? That's...Maybe...After all, didn't these marks only start appearing recently?" Sam asked.

Rachel shook her head, "No, the earliest report of this on record was back like...Near the time of that...Iskelle's death...I don't know, it could just be some sort of drug trafficking network...They're pretty rare these days, aren't they? Something like that could certainly be intricate enough to do something like this...Although why the marks are so obvious...Why would they be so obvious...Like...Maybe it's a distraction? I don't know...Just a little speculation..." Rachel muttered, shaking her head again.

"Well then, I suppose we'll just have to keep investigating...We'll probably find something...Hm, wonder where the twins are, they left like forty minutes ago..." Sam wondered allowed.

Rachel shrugged, "Yup, I suppose so...And yeah, they're probably eating lunch as well, or playing with Anna's pet...We talked about it the other day...She's really fond of Mr. Gump...So is the rest of her team...Except for the redhead...But anyway, that's ok, they'll be along..." she answered, looking up as Jenny brought the two plates over on a larger black tray. Rachel's regular was an ice cream sundae, with a fruit salad and a glass of milk. Sam's was more simple, just a cheeseburger with tomatoes and a large salad, with which he prefered to have sweet tea. They ate in silence, as they always had when alone, as Rachel was always a little uncomfortable when speaking while eating. When she ate lunch with the teams, she kept it to herself and tried to mask this discomfort, feeling it was wrong to force all her friends to stifle their speech because she was uncomfortable. Although Sam had tried to say it would be ok, they'd listen, she still insisted that she keep it quiet, so it made her happy to finally have a meal in silence.

Sam was opening his wallet to get his half of the bill, which they always split in half to make it even, no matter whose food was more expensive, when he felt his scroll buzz in his pocket. 'Probably the twins...Took them long enough...' he thought to himself as Rachel handed him her half, plus tip, which they alternated. As they stood, Sam pulled his weapon onto his back, and they walked towards the door. Jenny, who stood behind the counter and knew what they'd do, simply extended her hand and took the bills from Sam's. She wasn't at all worried they wouldn't pay in full. They always had. There wasn't a reason to suspect they'd suddenly stop, in her opinion. When they got outside and walked to the car, Sam pulled his scroll out and checked the message from the twins.

"Hey Sam, where are you? We're here at the site, but...You're not...You guys probably went for lunch, like we did...Anyway, just...Sent us a message for gods sakes...Anyway, until you're here, we'll...Look the site over, see what we can find...Yay..." the message ended. Chris, who'd sent the message, apparently hadn't worked out that the site was probably being watched, and that they shouldn't be so blatant about searching it. Sam played the message again for Rachel, sitting in the drivers seat after they'd gotten in the car.

"We should probably tell them we're backing off of the site a little, send them a message to find a place away from the site, but in a place we can watch it from..." Rachel said as she started the car. Sam nodded and pressed the reply button.

"Chris, Tia, you guys have to get away from there. Immediately. The whole place is probably being watched by someone, and we can't risk scaring them off, which we may have already done. Just get away from there and find a place for us to watch the site instead." he said before sending it off. They drove for about ten minutes before Rachel pulled over and parked her car in the small parking lot of a coffee shop, a few blocks from the apartment building they were watching.

"If they have been watching that place, then we can't take the car back there, or risk them recognizing it." she answered to his questioning glance. She climbed from the car and went to the trunk, where they'd stored their bags, which she pulled out, including the twins'. Sam took his and Chris' bags, but had to put them down as Rachel tossed a black cloak onto his head. "Here, put this one. Professor Goodwitch insisted these be brought along. Be careful, one side has the Beacon insignia, but it's reversible, so make sure you're wearing it on the side that's blank..." she said, pulling her own cloak over herself and pulling her and Tia's bag out. Sam simply nodded, adjusting the cloak over himself fit properly, then pulling the hood over his head and checking that the Beacon insignia was on the inside before taking up his and Chris' bag again. Rachel paused before pulling her own pack onto her back, over the cloak, and taking the remaining two from the back for the twins. She closed the trunk and locked the car before they started walking towards the site. Halfway there, however, they were met by the twins.

"Hey guys...AH, cool!!! Cloaks!!! Is there one for- SWEET!!!" they said together as Rachel handed them theirs.

"Make sure the Beacon thing is hidden..." she muttered. When the twins had donned their cloaks, Rachel and Sam handed them their bags.

"Hey guys, we've got a great place to stay...It's uh...Not really completely hidden...It's actually right above it..." Tia said, this time without her brother. Sam and Rachel glanced at eachother, confused. "Ahaha...You guys...Are gonna laugh...Well...That apartment building...That's where Sid lives...We can stay with her...And watch over the site..." Tia said nervously, waiting for a reaction. Sam and Rachel stay silent in consideration for a few seconds.

"Uh...Huh...You know that puts her in alot of danger, right?..." Sam asked.

Tia chuckled nervously again, "Y-yeah, well...Um...Apparently you guys told the manager to warn people not to go near the sign...So when Sid came out of the building to go get some coffee grounds...She glanced around the corner, saw us, and came over to say hi...So if anyone was watching that scene, she's already in danger, which means, as future huntsman, it's our duty to go and protect her, right?...So uh...Y-yeah...Win-...Win..." she finished a little frightened, as Rachel had now turned her aggressively angered gaze against her. It was always an effective silencer to most. Chris, who was now staying completely silent, had become wide eyed, and opened his mouth a couple times, stuttering, wanting to jump in and help his twin.

"Uh...Y-you know...This...Uh...I-isn't the worst thing...I-i mean the manager will probably comply, it's within range of the place, and even if it's bugged, which we can check for anyway, that means that they've made a mistake as well, which may get them to put down another mark in a different part of the city, which we could react to even quicker and better..." he stuttered, trying to take Rachel's attention.

Sure enough, it worked, and her gaze turned to Chris, "And if we scare them silent? We have no idea what they're doing or who 'they' is, and we may never get the chance to now."

The twins, feeling a little more empowered now, spoke together, "E-even so, that means that we've cut whatever it is off at the start...And if it is something big, who knows, maybe they won't feel discouraged, but more anxious, which puts us at an advantage...Anyway we put it, this investigation is  **not** over yet..." they insisted, heart's beating fast from Rachel's deathly glare.

After a few seconds, Rachel closed her eyes and sighed, "Whatever...But you guys are gonna be the ones to explain this to Goodwitch...I certainly hope this didn't fuck us up majorly.

"Actually, we got a call from Goodwitch...She's being called back to Beacon...Headmaster's orders...She'll be coming back into the city tomorrow morning, but until then, she'll be overseeing this investigation from there...She's told us that we're to use our best judgement as future huntsman, and to take steps to first find anyone we can who's involved with these mysterious marks. Her words." they answered quickly. This seemed to satisfy Rachel to some degree, as she rolled her eyes and sighed again, the twins' chipper attitude returned, and they pulled on their hoods, following their teammates examples, before leading them back to the apartment building. They took the elevator to the third floor, and walked around for a few seconds before finding room 3 B24, and knocking on the door.

"Is that you, Tia?" a voice from inside called out.

"Yeah, and my friends..." she said in return.

"Alright, it's open. Lock it behind you." Sid called back. Tia nodded and opened the door, letting the team enter first, then closing and locking the door behind her. Sid sat at a small desk in the corner of her small room. It was windowless, being on the inside rather than the outside, but that was ok with her. On the desk next to her was a large glass case with a tortoise wandering over patches of land between the water...This could only be Mr. Gump...

"Tia, what's your confirmation code? Did your professor give you one? I'd rather do this right, rather than just hack the motherfucker..." she asked, not turning from her laptop. The small livingroom held a sofa and a coffee table, small and glass, in front of a tv, which was about the same size as the coffee table. A small tree-like plant was in the corner, next to the tv, and Sid's desk sat in the corner next to the kitchen, a small square room, which was cut in half by the bedroom, another small box of a room to the left of the door.

"Oh yeah, here..." Tia said, walking over and pulling her scroll free, bringing up the code required to access the police surveillance cameras that Goodwitch had sent upon her request. Sid nodded her thanks and quickly typed it in flawlessly, and immediately the cameras were open, showing off the street, including the mark itself.

"Wait a minute, if we can see the mark itself...Then why can't we see who made the mark in the first place?" Rachel demanded, coming to stand next to Sid, who at home, wore no makeup.

"That data was corrupted...It went missing from the feed as if it never happened...Even the timestamp was edited to show that no time had past, but suddenly a mark appeared. They checked the cameras for defects, but there wasn't anything wrong with them...It's the same for ever reported mark so far. The cops are a little pissed about it, so they're happy to cooperate to catch whoever's humiliating them." Chris answered her as he sat on the sofa. "Do you mind if I sit down?" he asked, though he'd already sat.

Sid shrugged, "Hey, sit, get comfortable, there's a whole apartment for gods sakes, I ain't gonna keep it all to myself when I have guests over. There's some soda in the fridge, feel free to grab some, I got plenty." she answered idly.

Sam nodded in approval, "This is a nice place...If you don't mind me asking, how are you affording this?" he asked as he looked around the kitchen.

Sid chuckled, "I have a job at the airfields, remember?...Plus I got in touch in touch with your friend Mickey...She lets me pick up some shifts at her dust shop for extra money...So yeah, I got no financial trouble..." she answered, standing and stretching her legs. The scales under her eyes were clearly visible here, and it made her look much more serpentine, and even gave her a more feminine appearance in her casual clothing. "Who's having a soda, then?" she asked again, opening the fridge. Everyone present raised their hands, not really having any sort of picky taste for what kind. In a single trip, Sid past sodas around to everyone present. Sam had taken a seat at her desk to watch the cameras, and thanked her as she handed him an orange soda. His thank you reminded the twins to also say thank you when she handed them theres, and Rachel had been muttering the words 'thank you' in her head for the few seconds it had taken her to pass them out, at which time she voiced her gratitude. Sid sat down on the sofa next to Tia, who sat between her and Chris. There was one more spot at the end of the sofa, but Rachel was unsure about taking it. The twins glanced back at her and then at eachother, scooting a little closer to eachother, Tia intentionally scooting close enough to Sid to be hip to hip with her. Sid had no complaints about this, even welcoming it.

Chris looked back at Rachel and patted the seat next to him, "Sit down with us, Rachel...We made sure there's enough room..." he said happily. Rachel sighed in relief as she sat down and Sid turned on the tv for them. Sam was content to sit in the comfy swivelly chair Sid had at her desk, to watch the cameras. Out of everyone present, he had the greatest focus either way, so it wasn't a problem for him that the tv was also on.

"Alright...And now, we wait..." Sam said, smiling and sipping his soda.

* * *

 

Mickey sighed as she placed another small piece of wood on the fire. Fog hung low on the ground in the morning twilight. It was an odd feeling for her. Casual, and full...As if camping with a family on a peaceful outing. She smiled at the feeling. Suddenly she looked down as she heard stirring. Jay was now rubbing his eyes and sitting crosslegged in his sleeping bag. He opened his eyes, looking on the fire and yawning while he stretched his arms.

"Figures, you'd be the first one up..." Mickey whispered. In the chilly morning air, it was easy to hear even those faint whispers.

Jay groaned, "You brought coffee, right?" he asked. Mickey simply nodded to him as he stood and collected his dufflebag and weapons. She raised an eyebrow as he turned and began to walk into the forest.

"Where ya' goin'? You shouldn't be wandering around alone..." she whispered after him.

He stopped and turned back, "Relax, I've done this a thousand times...I'm armed, and the creak isn't a hundred paces from here...I'm gonna wash my face and hands, fill my thermos, and be right back. And yes, I have water purification packs. I'll be fine...I promise." he said as he started walking again. She sighed again and looked at the other team members, still asleep. Anna slept curled up against her bag, very much like a cat. Sasha slept sprawled out in a sleeping bag that was made to stretch so she could do so. Nick, who was now turning over at the noise and raising his head, had slept with his head against a log.

"Mnm, whassat?" he mumbled as he looked at the fire through foggy eyes. After rubbing them clear he looked at Mickey, who smiled back.

"Mornin', kid...Up and at 'em. We got one hell of a day planned..." she whispered. She had thought about using her flute to wake them up, but she didn't want to draw attention to them and decided against it. Instead, she stood and walked around to the two girls, placing her hand gently on Anna's shoulder and shaking her awake, and doing the same for Sasha, but with more force. By the time Jay returned from the creak, everyone was on their feet at least, if not with some resistance. Mickey walked over to the bag Alice had given her. Since this was her first mission in a few years, Alice had decided to pack her wife a bag with a few prefered luxuries, to make the transition easier. Alice had always been up first to make coffee, being a pilot, she woke quickly, and needed to be able to be ready just as quick. Mickey pulled the small box Alice had packed while everyone closed up and put away their sleeping bags. The box held two dozen packets of instant coffee, and two dozen packs of sweetener for those who wanted it, along with another two dozen packets of hot cocoa mix.

"Who wants coffee?" she asked, barely going above her previous whisper. Everyone nodded and raised their hands, still getting the grogginess from their skulls and jaws. "Alright, you all have some water bottles, have one ready...Except for you, Jay. And you're gonna want it hot, so I'll pass around a fire dust vial to heat it up with..."

"Is fire dust safe to use like that?" Sasha muttered.

Mickey simply nodded as she took out a pack of instant coffee for everyone, and a pack of sugar and cocoa, then went around handing them out to everyone, Jay included. Jay had brought his own, but since it was being given out, he thought it best to use what he was given. While Jay and Nick both had thermoses of their own, but Anna and Sasha had not. Instead, they were given their own from Beacon, who always lent out materials and supplies to any huntsman or huntress, fully fledged or fledgling, who intended to go on any out-of-kingdom mission. They each emptied a water bottle into their thermos along with the packets of coffee and coffee sweetener to the water. After she was done filling her own thermos, an older one from when she was a huntress previously, she took out a small vial with fire dust and poured just a tiny amount into the thermos before closing it and shaking it up while handing it over to Jay. It went around the team like this until Anna handed it back to Mickey, half empty. She put it back in the bag with the box and stood, looking around at everyone present. The team was trying to sip their coffee, with only Nick having any luck. Jay was already more coherent and alert looking than everyone else, so he was content to wait till his cooled a little. Anna and Sasha tried several times to take quick drinks, but when that failed, they too decided to just wait for it to cool.

"Alright...Let's get going...We've got some ground to cover..." she muttered as she picked up both her bags and began walking. The sun was just peeking through the trees, giving the ground a golden light, and the top of the trees a more subtle light as the fog rose from the ground.

"Hey Mickey, if you like, I can carry that second bag...It's no problem..." Sasha offered. Mickey thought about it for a few seconds through another swig of coffee.

"Why thank you, Sasha, that would be helpful." she smiled as she lagged back a little and handed the bag over.

"Hm...You'd never know this area was filled with a dangerous amount of Grimm by looking at it...Seems pretty peaceful...And didn't we walk like...Twenty kilometers yesterday? We should have encountered more than we did..." Nick muttered to the team.

"We walked twenty kilometers yesterday because we were skirting the perimeter of the raider's camp...We're pretty sure we know where they are, but...We don't know what span of area they cover, so we went...The long way...To make sure we didn't run into them...And actually, that's our plan for today..." Mickey answered him, still walking next to Sasha.

"We're gonna be handling the raider's camp today?" Jay asked idly as he walked back a little to where Anna was, taking her free hand with his.

"Yup...This morning, we're heading to one of the train's they've raided...Or at least the tracks...From there, we're gonna work our way around them...The point of that is basically to find any patrol parties...We want to see if we can't get a little more info on their location and arms status before we do anything..." Mickey answered again.

"A train, like...What was it carrying? What'd they take?" Anna asked, squeezing Jay's hand.

"It was carrying weapons...Dust rounds...They're meant to be training weapons for the students at schools like Signal...You know, how you had to use those practice weapons before you were allowed to make your own? It had those...Those weapons are made to teach kids how to handle a real huntsmans weapon, so they're sturdy...I mean not something I'd use, but they're more powerful than the ones sold to civilians by leagues...The train was carrying blank rounds for the guns, but those weren't taken...However on some of the past trains, various dust rounds have been reported stolen...And between the White Fang and these guys, we can't tell who has what, so like I said, we need more info on their arms status..." she said as they walked, shaking her head and taking another sip of coffee.

"White Fang...So wait, they have influence out here too? How do we know we're not going up against them right now?" Nick asked.

Mickey shook her head, "Nah, Beacon recently got info that suggests they have a hideout in the southeast...Sector 5, I think...And besides, I'm pretty sure the people we're going up against are...Huntsman...Or are at least lead by a huntsman or huntress...There are alot of cases of MIA pros out here...This is a dangerous place, after all...Who knows how many of them are dead or alive and are just hiding out..." she said, looking off in her head.

"How do you know it's a pro huntress leading them?" Sasha asked.

"Think about it...They've been out here for who knows how long...A force of that size are bound to attract Grimm...Despite that, they've stayed alive...Not only that, but they've stayed undetected until Xellos brought all of the Atlas forces down in their turf...So it's someone who has professional skills out here in Grimm territory...It's highly unlikely any civilian or even a syndicate like White Fang would have such skills...It could only be a pro...So either it's a small force of pros, in which case even our little team won't be enough, or it's lead by a pro, in which case Mickey and Anna together should be more than enough..." Jay responded to her.

Sasha groaned, "Ok...But what about the Grimm in this area? Nick was right, there should be more around here..." she continued.

"To be honest, I don't have an answer for that...You're right, this area should be swarming...But instead, it's calm..." Jay said.

"We got intel from a kid who was on the task force originally ordered to search the crash sight...The kid's friend apparently suffered a blow to the head to save him, and forgot everything...The kid said he came to the realization that the area was too dense with Grimm for any sizable force to be safe, then he saw Xellos, who knocked him out and left him for the Grimm...But we got their first...He said that before the area would be safe for them to go in, that Beacon would have to send in a team to clear the area...And to tell the truth, I too question whether or not this area is infested that badly either, but the kid insisted it was so...So here we are." she muttered, looking around through the trees...The sun was up now, and they'd walked for an hour.

"Ok, so basically, on the word of a kid, we're out here to kill things that aren't here?" Nick asked, chuckling a little.

"Could be...But hey, it's an opportunity to search the crash sight, so I'm not complaining..." Jay said. He had a very one track mind about this lately.

"Yup...That kid was like...Twenty...What he was doing on an assignment like that is beyond me...But to see Xellos and live...He ain't a kid anymore..." Mickey said in reply, taking another sip of coffee. Everyone was feeling alert now, and drinking their coffee. After another hour and a half of walking, and an occasional pack of Grimm, they came across a large black metal pillar. "Alright...This at the top of these pillars is a track for a train that's held up above the forest for safety...Normally they use ladders to get up there...But we don't have those...So we're gonna get up to the top ourselves. This train runs on a curve that we suspect is within their range, so we're gonna split up...Two of you are going to go one way, the other two will go the other way, and I'm going to see if I can't sneak through to check out the hunting base..." she explained as the team looked left and right, finding more pillars evenly spaced. There were ladders on the pillars themselves, but they were too high up to be reached from the ground without the aforementioned ladder.

"Uh...What if a train comes by?" Jay asked, looking up at the large broad track.

Mickey shook her head, "They've halted all trainflow on this track until the looters are dealt with...It's only a small delay...So no, there aren't gonna be any trains coming by...So then, let's get up to the top..." Mickey said happily. Without another word, her fans swept forth from their pouches, wind swirling around the whole team, which was suddenly lifted from the ground in a vortex. Shouts of surprise filled the air, only to be blown away by the whistling winds as they rose to the top of the rail, and were suddenly dropped as the wind vanished in a huff. Everyone groaned, standing and stretching.

"Honestly, Mickey, we could have just climbed the trees..." Jay groaned, frowning and picking up his dufflebag.

"Where's the fun in that..." Mickey responded with a smile. She opened her own bag and pulled out a small metallic cylinder with a single display screen and placed it on the rails. Clamps near the bottom ejected and slammed into the metal, gripping it tight. The top raised up on a small extending pole, and then separated into several flat gears, then coming back together, like a small satellite dish. From the sides, two doors wings clicked out, revealing small vials of lightning dust, that began sparking. The display came to life, forming a small holographic panel. Mickey bent over and typed away on it for a few seconds. When she was done, the wings collapsed back into the cylinder with a metallic click.

"Uh...What's that?" Nick asked. He thought for a few seconds that he'd remembered seeing something similar to it in Grant's workshop.

"This here is called a Sentinel Scanner Module. This dish here locks onto any nearby scrolls or computers and locates them, and can also assess their data, depending on the security level of the device. It can store almost a terabyte of data... Those little wings that contain the electric dust are it's generator along with another singular lightning dust crystal in the core...They're set to eject when the machine is turned on, so you can access the lightning dust if you need it for something else...The containers are made to fit into most weapons as lightning rounds...So it's also an ammo container...And the display links up with a scroll, and once it does, it won't accept any other scroll...It also has a password...And should it be hacked or attacked or something, it's set to use the lightning dust to set off an immediate EMP with it's remaining power..." she explained.

"Ah HA!! You got that from Grant, didn't you!!" Nick responded immediately, pointing to the device.

"After I saw you guys getting your weapon upgrades and repairs from him, I paid him a visit to see what he had, make sure he's reputable...I admit, I liked what I saw...Like this thing...He was very proud of this, practically begged me to take it out for a test run...It's an impressive machine..." she responded, nodding with reverence. "So...Split up...Two go that way on the rails, the other two climb down and go the other way, until you reach the edge of the treeline, where we believe the edge of their perimeter is...Well then?" she said, glancing around. Jay was reaching to take Anna's hand, and Sasha moved to stand with Nick, but Mickey stepped between them, "Ohhh no you don't. That's not happening. I know you guys are good couples and such, but..." she pointed to Jay and Anna, "You two can't keep your hands or tongues to yourselves, don't hide it, I was the same I can see it a mile away. And you two," she pointed to Nick and Sasha, "Destroy everything, and I'm fairly positive your reputation for getting into trouble when you're together won't be broken out here, and I don't want to be bailing you out of a shit situation...Jay, you're going with Sasha. Anna, you're going with Nick." she commanded. Everyone looked around at eachother, all a little red-faced.

"W-wait, if we can't go with our  **romantic** partners, why not go with our  **assigned** partners..." Jay said immediately.

"Because one, this is just gonna be like an hour long search of the perimeter for scouts or scout parties so we can get some info. Two, the people of the teams I've just assigned need to interact more anyway...It'll make you a stronger team. Three, I said so. I'm in charge and you have to listen to me." she muttered finally with a smirk. Everyone sighed as Sasha went to stand next to Jay, and Anna went to stand next to Nick. At this point, Jay's eyes were more red than gold as Mickey chuckled, "Alright, that's better...Let's go...Jay and Sasha, stay up on the rails, Nick and Anna, I'll get you down and you can go the other way. Keep in contact with me, we'll meet back here when we know more." Mickey explained as she stepped back to the edge of the rails.

"Wait, Mickey...Are you sure it's safe? Like...To go alone?" Jay asked as she did.

Even Sasha nodded, "Yeah, I'm...Not too sure about that...It's probably not safe to go alone...Take this..." she said, pulling the flute box from Alice's bag and handed it to Mickey. In Mickey's bag was plenty of excess Wind dust, probably more than she needed even for a mission that would be twice as long as this one. The flute would be a powerful tool for Mickey, with the wind dust. Mickey smiled and nodded, happily taking the box from Sasha.

"Thank you...Now...Get going...I'll see you back here. Make this quick and painless, and when we get back to Vale, I'll take us out for a meal. SCRT included." she said, nodding one more time before jumping backwards off the edge. Nick and Anna went over to the edge to see if they could see her, but they didn't even see her hit the ground before she was gone, leaving only a breeze on her heels.

Jay and Anna quickly shared a kiss between eachother before standing next to their partners, who followed suit. Nick turned to Anna, then to Jay and Sasha, "Well...This should be...Uh...Well...Just be careful, you two. Try not to kill eachother..." he said. Jay only sighed, but Sasha nodded.

"You too...Make sure you don't die..." Sasha said to them. Anna looked at Jay one more time, giving him a smile to try and make him do the same. He nodded and smiled in return before the two teams turned from eachother. Nick looked at Anna, who nodded to him as they walked to the edge and followed Mickey's example, jumping from the edge. Nick aimed his hand to the ground and blasted towards the ground with wind dust, providing a cushion for Anna and himself to land on before they started off, the maps on their scrolls serving as a guide. Jay turned to Sasha, and the two shared only a solitary glance before they started walking the opposite direction.

* * *

 

Sam sat back in the chair, keeping an eye on the cameras, only half listening to the story being told. It was one Rachel had heard before, but she still listened, out of respect if nothing else. Sid however, was taken completely with the twins' tale. It was hours into the first night, and there was still no activity on the mark. The streets were now growing quiet, and people were scarce, as was traffic. The mark was still green, and hadn't been touched so far. Having gotten bored of both waiting and television, Sid decided to ask the members of the team for stories of their exploits. The twins had the most to tell, and it was obvious as they continued their story.

"So that was basically it...Last straw...We were getting out of there..." Chris continued.

"Yup...So over the next two days, we went out and tracked down a couple kittens...Nothing difficult, of course, hand full of food, they came happily to us, mother included...We picked em up, took em home...And our...'Parents'...Didn't notice a damn thing..." Tia went on, putting parents in air quotes.

"And on the day before our birthday, we just activated their auras, another easy trick that we'd had up our sleeves...And snatched some fire dust from the cellar..." Chris picked up from Tia.

"Ok, but if you don't mind, why did they  **have**  a full cellar of dust? What were they keeping it for?" Sid asked them. Chris and Tia smiled and shook their heads.

"That's to come...You'll find out..." they said together. "So on the day of our birthday, they had a meeting at our house...And it wasn't even a party for our birthday...Their meeting day just happened to line up with it...So we took the kittens, with auras active...And lit them on fire using the fire dust..." Tia continued alone. Sid's jaw dropped and her eyes widened more.

"No no, it was ok, they had their aura to protect them...They didn't even get a singed hair...We let them run around the house, and we began to scream after we lit our room on fire too...We went downstairs, running from the blaze, and everyone just freaks out...They all dash out of the house while we grab the kittens...By the time the fire reached the cellar, and the house was blasted to bits, we were already on the other side of the kingdom...Greatest prank ever..." Chris finished for Tia.

"But they weren't satisfied with that, oh no...Faunus parents lose adopted children, was in the headlines for weeks...And it got worse, because they then implicated us in the fire...We  **did**  cause it, but that's irrelevant...And that's how we ended up going from a missing persons' database to a wanted suspect database within a month..."  Tia went on.

"So then...What, are you guys like still on the run?" Sid asked, raising an eyebrow. Samuel laughed at this, turning to the camera and watching carefully still.

"Nope...See you remember that dust cellar? Well they kept a few other sensitive documents down there...And all we had to do was sneak them to the police..." Tia answered.

"Honestly, we should have guessed it sooner, what with the frequent meetings...There wasn't a single human in the bunch...It should have been obvious they were White Fang meetings...Stolen Dust in the cellar, even a damn ledger with their dust round count, and plans for the next few robberies..." Chris said, shaking his head and looking at his soda can.

"Oh and get this, there would have been even more dust there, but apparently one of the robberies went bad...A member on the heist cut the train cars, fucked up their whole mission...But it's kinda lucky, because if that dust had been there too, the explosion would have ended up being too big for any of the members there to escape..." Tia finished.

"After that, they were arrested...Apparently that got someone's attention, because the next day we were tracked down by Beacon officials and brought before the Headmaster, who wanted to see more of what we could do...He said he saw promise in us that outshined any other siblings he'd seen thus far...We trained at an Academy in Mistral for a little while, came back to Vale to finish up our last year at Signal...We took top of the class that year, and earned a pardon from Ozpin...But uh...We were only like thirteen, so we went back to Mistral for a few years, did some maturing...Actually that's a lie, we fucked up everything we could without committing any felonies...Then we came back to join Beacon..." Chris said, finishing his half of the story. Sid shook her head, still surprised by this tale.

"Wow...So wha-" Sid started, only to be interrupted by Sam.

"Guys, we got something...Casual clothing, hood up, he's messing with the mark...He just walked up outta nowhere, and now it looks like he's erasing the mark..." Sam said, standing up and grabbing his backpack from his feet and heaving it onto his back, clipping in place and walking to the door. His hands ached in his gauntlets, and he had to stop and stretch as the rest of the team stood up and put their cloaks aside.

"Uhh, ok, is there anything I can do to help?" Sid asked immediately, standing and walking around, suddenly feeling a little frantic.

"No, you-" Tia was stopped when Rachel interrupted her, grabbing Sid's hand and shoving her key into it.

"You can drive, right?" she demanded. Sid could only nod...And it was true. She'd gotten her license months before leaving Vacuo...And although she'd had to take a course on differing driving laws between the two kingdoms, it wasn't that difficult for her to earn a temporary license in Vale as well. Rachel nodded, "Good. Two blocks from here, in the parking lot of that coffee shop, you know the one?" she asked quickly. Sid nodded again, seeing it in her head. "There's a car with a peachy color on it...Just use the unlock button, the lights will flash, you'll see it. Go get that and get it, and wait for our call. If this guy isn't alone, he could have a getaway car, and we'll need to be able to snag him." Rachel commanded. Sid only nodded again, gaining confidence.

Tia frowned, "Wait Rachel, you can't-"

"Tia, really, this isn't the time. Are you going to take the bet that this guy is alone? I won't. We go as a team, Sid can standby. At this point, she's involved, and she can help, especially since we don't have the Professor here for whatever reason. End of discussion." she said quickly. Tia looked to Sam with an incredulous look.

Sam sighed, "Rachel's right, Tia...We can't be taking any chances that he's alone, it could get one of us killed or it could end up blowing this whole thing. We can't afford either." he answered her look. Tia gritted her teeth and turned to her girlfriend.

"Be careful. If it comes to anything, don't put yourself in the line of fire..." she demanded, pulling her into a hug as Sam opened the door. The mark was almost completely erased when they got down to the lobby and ran out onto the sidewalk. Sid didn't hesitate to keep running towards the coffee shop. The man who was erasing the mark stopped when he saw team SCRT approaching. He pulled a scroll from his pocket, which was immediately destroyed by Rachel's whip as it snapped. The man's hand was clearly broken, and he groaned in pain, clutching his hand. His hoodie was completely black, as were his pants and shoes, and below the hood, the man even wore a black cloth mask that covered everything below his eyes. The glove on his hand was shredded by the attack, and the scroll, clearly not any model used by the public, was in pieces on the ground. Almost immediately, a van screeched around the corner. It was a large black van with no markings.

Sam sighed as his armor activated, snapping over his body, chest plate and all. He dashed forward and jumped in front of the van, putting his hands together and slamming down on the hood. The metal gave under his attack, and the van stopped suddenly, back tires lifted from the air for a second. But the van wasn't alone. One more, along with a semi truck and three motorcycles all came around from different directions. Sam yanked his fists from the van's dented hood and turned, pulling his scimitars from his back. Rachel turned and lashed out at one of the motorcycles, catching the front of it and snapping the vehicle in two. The man on the back, however, had jumped off of the motorcycle. The twins both pulled their batons free and turned to the van that Sam had stopped, which had opened it's doors, letting out five men total, all with guns.

The twins struggled to defend themselves from the five guns, and with the second van pulling up, five more joined them. The guns were sleek, and like the scroll, were no models used by the public. The shots were oddly silent...As if they absorbed noise. While Rachel was angrily lashing out at the remaining two motorcycles, and Sam now fighting the man whose hand was broken. He had gotten up...And his hand was now suddenly completely healed. He carried with him a single gun and a short sword, which he'd hidden beneath his hoodie on his back. He held the blade in his right hand, the hand that had been broken, which was now covered in a black residue, that reflected light, and was beginning to dissolve. With every blow and swing of that blade, Sam could smell it...Iron. It wasn't difficult to place for him. The twins had taken four shots each now, luckily blocked by their aura, but the sting of the shots remained, hindering them more and more. They wouldn't hold out much longer...But the men they fought wouldn't fall. The dust in their batons was being depleted quickly with their counter attacks, which were clearly landing...But had almost no effect. They shouted to be heard over the noise-absorbing gunshots to their leader.

"Sam, this is going downhill fast...The amount of burns or shocks these guys are suffering would have knocked out any android already..." they shouted frantically. The semi truck had come to a stop, yards from the vans, but it seemed like they were doing nothing about the fight, and instead simply waited. Sam groaned under the pressure of the blade attacks of his opponent. It was clear to see what the twins meant. His opponent was nothing special. Little more than a civilian in skill level, but his attacks had incredible strength, and his counter moves were nothing short of professional in nature. He threw the man off of him and caught his breath.

"I know...I don't get what's happening either..." he said. He looked over at the twins. Other than the ten with guns, there were two more men in each van, who appeared to be standing by, almost completely passively. They didn't move, or even watch the fight. They appeared almost comatose. Rachel was struggling with the two motorcyclists, who were clearly professionals. Even in the narrow street, blocked by two vans, they weaved back and forth in circles, expertly exploiting Rachel's recoil time to fire on her. She could barely manage to dodge one, and defend against the other with her aura. This was a losing battle so far, and he knew it. And as far as he could see, there was also no way out of this situation. Just the man in front of him was almost too much. Strong enough to battle with his armor, he could barely keep up. But something else was the matter...Had he been able to get close, he could use his semblance to steel aura from this man, but...The aura he felt...Was almost toxic. He didn't want anything to do with it. As he blocked shots from the man's gun, he looked back quickly at the other men here. All emitted the same toxic aura. It wasn't even powerful. He doubted they could even block a bullet with it, let alone have a semblance. But it was still so disgusting in nature that he could feel it down to his bones. This was more than a losing battle...This was a plague...And it was one that they couldn't handle.

Sam turned his attention back to the man, who'd suddenly shouted in pain and doubled over, dropping his weapons. Sam almost took a step forward when suddenly the back of the semi truck opened. A dozen more men dashed from the back, four armed with much larger, and automatic weapons. The other eight were dressed in long black coats instead, and two of them pulled a gurney with them. The men who didn't pull the gurney rushed ahead to the man who was now on the ground, groaning in agony. They turned him over onto his back, and quickly ejected him with something that knocked him out, as his body went limp. As they hauled him onto the gurney, the men with the automatics, which should have been too heavy for them, lifted their weapons and took aim. Weapons like that would mow down the whole team if they were caught.

"Everyone, get off the ground!!!" Sam shouted, mustering his aura and leaping up. His exoskeleton interacted with his aura and added force to his jump, lifting him easily to the top of the apartment building, where he dodged back from the edge. Everyone heard the command and acted immediately, only a second after Sam. Tia and Chris turned, weapons already sheathed, and leaped onto the side of the building, easily dashing up to the balconies on the highest floor. Rachel turned and struck out with her whip, which extended up to the roof...Where it was caught by Sam, who reached over to grab it and yanked back as the whip contracted, yanking Rachel from the ground up to the roof, the twins rolling onto the roof quickly. The automatic weapons the four men began firing sounded like jackhammers, but became more silent as the firing continued. The firing didn't continue long...Only three seconds of fire, in fact...But the men fired blankly, simply aiming in the general direction of the team, and even when they dodged to the roof, the men made no attempt to correct their aim, and stood with their weapons still trained in the direction they'd fired.

The team looked over the edge of the roof. The men had climbed back into their vans, and the men in coats were now hauling the injured fighter back to the semi, which had started up. One of the motorcyclists had ran up to one of the vans and climbed in with them. The other two, however, had stopped and waited for the back of the truck to close and the vans to start. When they did, the motorcycles took off, followed by the van, and followed by the semi. The team leaped from the roof, watching them speed off. Suddenly another car sped towards them from the direction the caravan had driven in. It was Grace Gaias' peach colored convertible, driven by Sid.

She stopped next to them and rolled down the windows, breathing a heavy sigh of relief, "Oh thank Monty, you're still alive. Come on, we gotta hurry!!!" she commanded quickly. None of the team questioned her as they scrambled to climb into the car. Rachel took shotgun, and the spikes on Sam's back collapsed as he climbed into the back with the twins. Before final door had even closed, Sid slammed on the gas and turned the car around, speeding off in pursuit of the mysterious caravan.

"Damnit, you guys are scary...Three fuckin' motorcyclists in weird black uniforms speed past, and not even ten minutes pass before they go back the other direction, with two vans and a  **fucking semi.**  I thought you were dead..." Sid shouted in huffs as the team reloaded their gear. The twins' removed their regular dust clips, and instead placing their emergency clips. The dust in these clips was far more concentrated. Far more powerful. Rachel replaced the earth crystal in the handle of her whip and slammed the clip shut with annoyance as they drove towards the freeway where the caravan had headed. It wasn't difficult to for her to figure out which direction they were going...There were only so many paths to take. And they only took one. She weaved through car after car, spotting the caravan as her eyes changed composition.

"Lower the top of the car, please...We'll handle the caravan. Just get us close..." Sam commanded. Sid nodded as she continued weaving through the cars, pressing the button Rachel pointed out to her and the roof began to lower immediately. The two vans had taken up positions in front of and behind the truck, which was in the farthest lane to the right it could be. The motorcycle riders had taken positions on the side of the semi, and they continued in this formation. The car sped up till they were in range of the semi, and Sam jumped up onto the hood of the car. Rachel stood in her seat, as did the twins. He turned to Rachel and gestured towards the motorcyclists. It was clear that they weren't paying attention to them at all. Rachel nodded and lashed out at one of the motorcyclists, striking him immediately on the head. He was unconscious immediately, and the motorcycles swerved and stopped suddenly, crashing into a car and being tossed against the side barrier of the highway. The van in front turned and moved out in front of their own car.

Sam turned to the twins, "Handle the vans, if you please...Rachel, handle the second motorcyclist and then help the twins...I'll handle the semi..." he commanded. Everyone nodded immediately and began moving. The twins leapt from the car onto another car in the next lane and moved quickly as a single unit. The drivers were of course angry, but suddenly less concerned with them and the side door of the van behind the semi opened, and the men began to open fire on team's car. The van in front of them opened the back door, and the men in that van began to fire on them as well. Sid's eyes widened and she swerved, pressing the brake a little dodging the bullets from the vans. Sam stood steady, gathering aura as Rachel lashed out at the motorcycle, which expertly dodged to the side, but stopped before it swerved into the path of the bullets from a van.

Sam leaped upward, landing on the top of the semi truck's back and immediately slammed his hands down into the top of the metal, digging his claws into the metal. He stopped immediately however when he smelled the dust through the holes, and jumped back a few paces as automatic weapon fire tore through the cieling of the container at him. This time, the bullets chased him as he dodged. He crouched and removed his scimitars again, dodging right and moving forward towards the front of the semi. He leapt down onto the connector, and the bullets stopped. He put his back to the driver's compartment, and stopped for a few seconds. Suddenly the motorcyclist pulled up next to semi and pointed a gun at you. He wasn't there long however, as Rachel's whip snapped the back wheel from the motorcycle, which crashed with a burst of fire.

Rachel groaned, nearly falling from the car as Sid swerved again, this time nearly rolling the car. She looked back at Sid in annoyance, but didn't have long as Sid swerved again, this time moving behind the van in line with the semi. The van that was in front of them backed up to a position where they could once again fire on Rachel's car, but the doors on the back of the van were suddenly slammed shut. The twins stood on the back of the van, smiling happily. Tia bent down and unleashed a stream of fire from both batons that covered the entire door, welding it shut. They nodded to Rachel and jumped onto the back of the semi. The back door of the second van opened up to fire straight at Rachel and Sid. But Rachel was more than ready. When the door opened, she unleashed a flood of the power in the earth dust crystal. The three men who stood in the doorway were caught in the snap of the whip. The man in the center was tossed forward into the front seat of the van, and the two beside him were smashed against the sides of the van. The man who had been thrown into the front seat knocked into the driver, who swerved accidentally swerved right into the barrier, smashing right through it and falling from the highway.

The only remaining vehicles were the semi truck and the van whose backdoor was welded shut. Sam jumped up onto the top of the semi truck again and was now running across to the back. The bullets from inside the semi truck resumed as he ran, causing him to scramble even quicker. When he reached the edge of the back compartment, he turned and backflipped effortlessly, landing on the hood, which was dented by the force of his fall.

"Sam, you should probably hold onto something!!" Sid shouted. Sam was almost thrown from the top of the vehicle as Sid turned, following the semi as it took one of the exits from the freeway. He crouched and slammed his claws into the metal of the hood, holding tightly. The van, twins on top, crashed onto the exit behind them. The exit took them into the lower part of Vale's industrial district. The twins jumped onto the hood of the van, then forward onto the trunk of Rachel's car. They turned as the side door of the van opened and two of the five men aimed towards them. With only two foes, it was much easier to block the shots. They could even look into the van's windshield and watch the men inside...But they sat there peacefully. As if nothing was wrong. The twins were baffled, but kept blocking either way. The semi truck in front of them took side roads back roads to avoid any lights or extra attention, that they'd probably gotten by now anyway. Sam stood again, leveling himself out and turned to Rachel.

"Rachel, crack the back of that semi open!! I'm gonna get inside and take out the armed guards...Swerve to avoid the automatic weapons, ok? But wait till the last second...Chris, Tia, you heard?" he shouted. The twins nodded, but kept their backs turned. Rachel reared back, preparing to destroy the door, but suddenly it opened, and the four automatic weapons were pointed directly at them. Out of instinct, Sam immediately jumped forward, landing on the top of the semi, which was covered in bullet holes. In a blind panic, Sid swerved immediately, and almost crashed into a building after getting off the road, but was stopped by quick action on Rachel's part, who lashed out at the back of the semi truck, releasing all the remaining power of the earth crystal into the whip, causing the side of the car to slam into a light post instead. The automatic weapons in from the semi still fired, however, tearing through the van, and everyone inside, in a large explosion as the fire and earth dust mixture in the engine ignited. It was only after this, two seconds later, that Rachel's attack connected, and threw the entire semi truck onto it's side, Sam and all.

The twins immediately dashed around the car, having been thrown from the trunk when they hit the light pole. When they crashed, Rachel slipped from her standing position and fell into Sid's lap, back against the door. The four automatic weapons were now totalled, broken from being slammed out of the semi when it crashed. But the four men who used them were not down just yet, nor were they unarmed. They had pulled large guns from their belts, and now marched out from the back of the crashed semi, turning to the first targets they saw...The twins.

"We've officially had ENOUGH of this!!" they growled together as they moved. Now furious, they ran full tilt, right up until the second the guns fired, at which point, they leapt up, clearing the kill box in a single jump, both pulling their weapons free before they hit the ground. Tia's batons were now engulfed in flames, and electricity buzzed along the length of Chris' batons, crackling against anything nearby with quick bolts of lightning gone astray. Tia released her rage into the flames, letting her aura blaze with the fire as she slammed the batons into the chests of the first two men. The resulting blasts left almost nothing of the men. The last two, finally appeared to feel emotion. Unfortunately for them, that emotion was shock, which stalled them for the half second it took Chris to get close. More controlled than his sister in action, he instead turned his batons backhand and moved between the men, then slammed them against the sides of their heads. Lighting cracked the helmets and thunder echoed through the street as the electricity flowed freely from Chris' batons.

The men collapsed to the ground. Whether or not they were dead, or incapacitated was questionable to the twins, given what these men had shown themselves to be able to endure. And the twins could frankly not have cared less. Their attention was instead turned to the eight people in the coats, some of whom lay unconscious in the back of the semi, and others were only giving groans to display consciousness. But the two that were standing were shakily trying to recover something to use. Not to fight the twins, but instead to try and stop the fighter Sam had faced earlier...Who was now on his feet, walking towards the twins. They simply watched, begging him to come close enough, controlling their fury until it was called. But they never got the chance. The man slowed as he reached the opening, beginning to stumble and shake. The twins glanced at eachother and took a few steps back as he approached them. It was only when he stepped out into the light that they saw it.

Their eyes widened in disgust at this sight...Sam had walked to the opening, where he now stood in shock at what he saw. It shouldn't have shocked him...He'd seen worse...But he could never get over it. Rachel had approached as well, and her face was contorted with sickened expression. The man's clothes were almost completely soaked in blood. It poured from his eyes, now nothing but swollen red orbs, and it had even begun to turn black as he coughed it up from his mouth. The twins backed up further. The man in front of them could no longer even scream out in pain, and was choking on his own blood. But it was worse. Sam's eyes widened as he looked on, smelling the man's aura begin to swell. The scent of the aura was almost too much for Sam to handle as he dashed past him and grabbed Rachel, pulling her back. He tried to open his mouth to tell the twins to back up, but the scent was suffocating, and it made him feel sick to his stomach. The man fell to the ground, already dead. His aura was now releasing pressure and beginning to fade, but Sam knew what would happen before anyone saw it coming. The man's skin turned black...Before bursting off of his body, spraying blood in all directions. The twins raised their hands to shield their faces, but it got all over them. Sam had pulled Rachel back out of the radius, however.

Everything was silent...The twins looked with horror on the black blood that splattered their chest and bodies. Neither could muster the breath or will to speak or to even cry. Both felt that if they opened their mouth, they'd only end up being sick. The man's body was now dissolving, slowly. Like a freshly killed Grimm. That's when Sam realized what it was...The smell of this man's aura...Was like a Grimm, made human.

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, for those who have been looking for the artwork, let me give you a special message...Right now, our artist, Anna, is having some bad times, and is having difficulty getting much art done. We will begin posting art when she has the chance to resume work, and get singular art done for each character...Once we have those, we'll be posting them on a tumblr blog, so look forward to it.


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